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Robert C. Christensen - October 07, 2010

Robert C. Christensen, brother of Elna Johnson of Imperial, died Sept. 30, 2010, at the Narrabri hospital in Australia at the age of 82.
Christensen was a Brush (Colo.) High School graduate in 1947. He served two years in the U.S. Army in Korea and graduated as a Civil Engineer from Colorado A&M in Fort Collins, Colo., in 1959.
He worked in California and went to Australia in 1967 while working for J.G. Boswell & Company to assist with the Auscott company they had founded there. He was recognized as having a significant part in the development of Auscott’s irrigation and cotton development, as well as being highly respected by farmers and water authorities.
He later owned his own engineering company and company farms and continued to be a consulting engineer. A plot of land near Warren, New South Wales, Australia was dedicated as the “Bob Christensen Reserve.” He was nominated for the Queen’s award for his contribution to Australian agriculture.
Christensen married Gail Schatz in 1967 and they raised three children in Australia. One son and daughter-in-law live in Denver, Colo., while his daughter and youngest son and their spouses remain in Australia with his five grandchildren.
Funeral services were held Oct. 5 in Australia. He was given full military rites with both the Australian and U.S. flags present. Burial was at Narrabri Lawn Cemetery in Australia.